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Gratitude is a vital part of healing,
mental health and wellness. Once a week, we compose a list of things
we're most grateful for. You're invited to share yours in the comments
below.

Best of the week:

♥ Heading to Ohio! By the time you read this, I should already be in Cleveland. I'm going for the long weekend, to shop, check out museums and spend time with my mom and a family friend. Should be awesome!

♥ Tush and I went to an advance screening of Despicable Me 2 on Wednesday night. Fun! I really want a minion of my own.

I sometimes wonder whether it's worth it to be as outspoken as I am (especially on the internet). Is it worth it to make enemies because I feel the need to discuss my life, my feminism, my stance on abortion?

But nights like tonight make things crystal clear.

Here's what went down:

There’s this bill that they are trying to pass in Texas that would
make it illegal to get any abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and
would make it very difficult for abortion centers [even general health centers that happen to offer abortion-related services] to continue doing what
they do. Governor Rick Perry has already said that if the bill makes it
to his desk, he will sign it. And Wendy Davis said fuck no that is not
happening.

So she’s filibustering it. That means she asked to talk on the
subject at 11:18 this morning, and if she can continue talking about
abortion until 11:59 tonight, the bill won’t reach Governor Perry, and
they would have to start all over with the bill next time they meet- 2
years from now.

But Wendy has to keep talking. She can’t pause for even a minute, not
for food or a sip of water or to go to the bathroom or sit down. She
can’t even lean up against anything, or she’s out [source].

Senator Davis had to speak for hours on end about a woman's right to bodily autonomy, following the rules to a 'T'-- until the Republicans decided to vote at the last minute. After midnight. Illegally.

They claim they began voting before the stroke of 12, but the 170,000+ people watching know that's not true.

And then protestors were arrested. Forcefully.

So following the rules only applies if you're not a white, straight, cis-gender, Republican man? Interesting.This is about more than abortion. It's about more than Texas. It's about more than America. This is about women's rights. This is about human rights.

Gratitude is a vital part of healing,
mental health and wellness. Once a week, we compose a list of things
we're most grateful for. You're invited to share yours in the comments
below.

Best of the week:

♥ My mom had a week and a half off work, and it's been great having extra time to spend with her.

♥ Coffee with my best friends is always the highlight of my week.

♥ Getting excited about attending an advance screening of Despicable Me 2. It's not just for kids, y'know! :)

Little things which made me smile:

♥ This photo of Ellen and Portia's shoe closet ♥ Apparently it's weird to have a favourite verb tense. (Mine is subjunctive, by the way). ♥ Sunny summer days. ♥ Nectarines. ♥ Demi. ♥ I'm not sure if this is real, but it made me laugh. ♥

I complained to my mom, tossing item after item out of my closet. That's when I realized it: my endocrinologist had said PCOS can cause continued weight gain, even during treatment. I'm still gaining weight. Fuck!

Don't get me wrong: I love being fat. I love my body. And I consider myself a fat activist. Learning to love myself means accepting myself at any size, whether it's a 2 or a 32. But growing out of your clothes at a rate that feels unhealthy and puts a dent in your (already half-empty) wallet? It's hard to cope.

So off I go to the mall. The biggest mall in the biggest city in Canada. I have limited funds, since my disability means I can't work as much as I'd like to, but I'm sure I'll find something.

Wrong.

With multiple floors and hundreds of stores, you'd think there'd be at least a hundred that carry sizes over 16.

Nope. Not even 10.

Let's count them:
1 Forever 21
2 Reitmans
3 Sears

Three stores. In an entire mall. The scary thing is that I have more luck at the Eaton Centre than I do at other malls in Toronto.

I'm fortunate that I can sometimes fit into a 16 or XXL, the largest straight size available, so stores like Old Navy and the Disney Store are not entirely off limits. Still, who wants to squeeze into t-shirts and cotton dresses, crying "I'm so lucky this blouse is cut big!"? And as a fat woman, I'm already not taken seriously in the office, so do I really want Tinkerbell's face on everything I own?

I'm glad the three fatshion- friendly stores above exist. But... why aren't their plus sizes mixed in with their "normal" clothes? Why is the fabric quality superb in straight sizes and so-so at best, ghastly at worst in plus? Why should fat girls wear low quality clothes that cost more, just because they're bigger? And why are the few stores in Canada that specialize in plus sizes extravagantly priced and rarely in malls?

We're being punished for our size. We're being punished for eating 'too much', for having illnesses like PCOS, for our genetics, for happening to have double chins.

Do I begrudge my slenderer friends their fast fashion, their hundreds of stores, the breeze that shopping is for them? Not at all. I just want my experience to be as good as theirs.

Image source: Reitmans (one of the few stores at Eaton Centre which caters to plus size shoppers).

♥ Listening to Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts on repeat all morning. ♥ Hot chocolate. Yum. ♥ One of my favourite books, Le Petit Prince, is about to become an animated movie. Crossing my fingers, because I hope it's incredible. ♥ Looking forward to summer street festivals in Toronto this summer! Read about some of them here. ♥ Reading about Miami and the Florida Keys. ♥ Hawaiian pizza. ♥